Questions about website design from a complete novice.

I’m come from a land far far away, called VideoHive. I have always been curious about website design, especially after seeing the insane amount of blue steel and plutonium paws over here, but I have never really looked into it. I would say that I have a pretty good “sense of design”, but I have no experience with coding, in fact I wouldn’t even call myself a novice.

What I want to know is; where’s the best place to start? Can I learn on my own? How much experience is needed to produce something worthy of ThemeForest?